University of Utah biologist David Carrier and Michael H. Morgan, a University of Utah physician, contend that human faces -- especially those of our australopith ancestors -- evolved to minimize injury from punches to the face during fights between males.

Their research is published in the June 9 issue of Biological Reviews.

Fist fights might have shaped human faces, a new study suggests.

According to University of Utah scientists and colleagues, human faces - especially those of australopith ancestors - evolved to minimize damage during fist fights.

Face is attacked the most during a fist fight. Today, doctors can treat a jaw injury. "But four million years ago, if you broke your jaw, it was probably a fatal injury. You wouldn't be able to chew food... You'd just starve to death," said David Carrie, University of Utah physician, to BBC.

The research challenges the idea that human face evolved to help us eat hard-to-crush foods such as nuts.